Masks
by Rienuaa
Summary: 5 years after Wreck-it Ralph, King Candy dares set foot outside Sugar Rush. He meets a girl who knows too much, and one thing leads to another. Romance heats up, candy puns are made, foul language abounds and intense plot develops. Heavy KingCandy/OC shipping. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: This takes place 5 years after Wreck-it Ralph. It uses the plot of most of the movie, but the ending is considerably different in my version. If there are any unresolved problems, please PM me and I'll try and iron it out. Thanks, and enjoy!_

* * *

_You know, I really must get out more._

The fanfare of Royal Raceway sounded. From the announcer box, King Candy, the ruler of Sugar Rush, sat grinning on his throne. He jumped up and pulled on a tassel. With a giant smile and a bit of a laugh, the slide of velvet unfurled, and he dove down it while shouting "Let the Random Roster Race... BEGIN!"

_It's hard to believe I've been doing this so long._

King Candy fell from the slide into his white chocolate car, just as he had every time the races began. With one final gleeful giggle, the traffic light acting as a countdown began to flash.

_I'm just glad everything worked out the way it did._

The traffic light dinged green. King Candy floored the gas pedal, catching the boost with expert precision. A quick early swerve knocked Candlehead to the side. A shriek and a small burst of flame behind his cart let him know the quick maneuver was successful.

_That was fast._

The ramp to the Gumdrop Canyon was soon covered in racers, minus Candlehead. King Candy, who had fallen behind Minti Zaki due to an earlier boost on her part, was trying desperately to regain his first place position. After swerving in front of Rancis, which caused him to slam into a giant gumball and respawn, he finally hit a Sugar Box.

_Here we go..._

With a slightly darker giggle, he aimed his cart at Minti. A giant scoop of ice cream was soon protruding from a cannon which had appeared on his cart. With a pull of the triggers on his steering wheel, the oversized dessert was launched toward the unsuspecting racer.

_Have some candy, you annoying little prick._

"OOOOOH, A LA MODE!" the announcer boomed. Minti was transformed into a giant piece of pie, and was passed by the remaining racers. The stadiums cheered with renewed vigor. They began chanting for the now in first place King.

"King Candy! King Candy! King Candy!"

_That's more like it..._

The final leg of the race was in the Cold (Sugar)snap Caves. King Candy shook his head to clear the memories that immediately filled his view.

_Let's just finish this race._

As his kart neared the top of the biggest hill, a sudden gust of wind from a vent steered his kart just slightly off course. Unfortunately for him, he was still going fast enough to propel him off the edge. As gravity drew him down into the inky blackness of the pit that surrounded the track, his characteristic overhyped grin faded into a more sarcastic scowl. King Candy sighed.

_Oh well. I guess I'm not racing tomorrow._

He hit the cutoff. His body faded into blue binary and was disassembled. He reappeared in the Resurrecting Room just behind the finish line. His kart appeared in its parking spot with a few blue flashes, next to the karts of Candlehead, Rancis and Minti.

_I was tired getting first place anyway. Maybe a day off would be nice._

"And the winner is... TAFFYTA MUTTONFUDGE!"

_Who the hell came up with these names, anyway?_


	2. Chapter 2

King Candy may not have been the most honest king, but he was very good at his job. By day he raced with his subjects, and by night he managed his kingdom of Sugar Rush from his glittering white chocolate castle. His terrible and surprising alter-ego was hidden, of course. A few inhabitants of the arcade had discovered his bloody past, but his deft code manipulation had left them devoid of the memory of the event. For King Candy was not a normal character...

King Candy knew how to program.

Oh, sure, all characters knew of the code... but King Candy was the first to actually fully jump games. And he had done such a good job, he was even able to respawn in his current residence after one of the intruders had destroyed him. A quick memory wipe and a reset had set the game back to a time before his identity was forced into the open, and an even quicker minor deletion had permanently destroyed the little brat responsible for his unmasking. He had even torn out the memory from the few interlopers that had meddled with his perfect kingdom. Oh, sure, he had felt a flash of guilt for them as they crumbled into strings of binary, but the feeling hadn't lasted long.

His escapades in that particular scenario had also been beneficial. The mix of Cybug that was thrown into his code had unlocked his model - permanently. Now, just as Venellope could channel her glitch, he could channel his. Sure, the glitch was painful at first, and a little bit scary after he respawned with it, but he'd learned quickly. Soon he could change appearance with a single thought, and hold his false royal image for days at a time. It was still exhausting after a while, though, so the nights in his castle were perfect to let his disguise drop. And, he was still technically connected to the code, so he was even allowed to leave Sugar Rush.

His glitch was like Vanellopes' in that it was heavily tied to his emotions. This, coupled with a hot temper, made it difficult at first to get it under control. Now, however, this wasn't really a problem for the King. He'd lived a lie for 20 years, he could handle his focus for long enough to get things done.

All in all, not a particularly unfavorable trade.

And now, for the first time in the five years since the incident, King Candy had a day off.

"I'm going out, Sour Bill. I trust you'll take care of the castle while I'm not around, right?" King Candy gave a little grin and patted his small assistant on the head.

"Mmmkay." Sour Bill droned, his expression the perfect definition of apathy.

"Wonderful! I'll be back by the time the next Random Roster Race happens. If anything happens, you know what to do, right?"

"The fungeon?"

"Hoo hoo! Correct!" A characteristic, yet slightly forced giggle bubbled from King Candy's grinning mouth. "Now, I'll be back before you know it, don't you worry!"

And with that, King Candy started walking toward the game's exit: a hole in the skybox accessible by a long ramp of sugary treat. As the sun set in the sugary world he ruled with a candied fist, King Candy steeled himself for his first trip out of Sugar Rush since he had arrived.

_Yes, yes... a day off will be nice. I've been in control so long, the odds of an incident are low enough I should be safe._

With one last look behind him, King Candy began the long walk up the rainbow bridge to Game Central Station.


	3. Chapter 3

Game Central Station. It had been years since King Candy dared to set foot in the large room that held the arcade together. Oh, sure, he'd talked to plenty of people from other games - they ended up in Sugar Rush sometimes - but actually putting himself out there in the huge hall was a bit... daunting for him. It was probably because he was still public enemy #1, technically. However, King Candy did have time to kill. Besides, he was a master of his glitch now. He could hold it together for a few hours.

As the tram approached the end of its path, a female announcer broadcasted "Now arriving in Game Central Station."

King Candy drew in a breath. It was bigger than he remembered. The entrance to his game was dark, and there was graffiti everywhere. "Aerith lives" he read aloud. "Campers suck. The cake is a lie." His eyes wandered toward the looming entrance to the main terminal. King Candy stepped through the archway.

BEEP. A red grid flashed up as soon as King Candy had set one foot into the station.

What the - !?

"Random security check, if you'll please step this way." called a short, blue security guard as he zipped out of the floor in a bolt of electricity.

"... What?"

"Just doing my job as a Surge Protector, sir. Answer the questions and you'll be on your way. Name?"

"King Candy."

The Surge Protector flipped through his clipboard. "Really? Because according to this register here, there is no such character as King Candy."

_Fuck._

"That simply can't be. I'm King Candy! From Sugar Rush!" King Candy looked around. A few of the passerby had taken confused glances at him, but the longer he was with the Surge Protector the more characters took notice. He had to get out of this situation. Security only stopped bad guys, and he wasn't one. Well, he was, but not by the terms of the arcade.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here, hmmm?" King Candy froze. A female, yet slightly metallic voice had suddenly come from somewhere behind him, near the entrance to Sugar Rush. King Candy turned in surprise.

His eyes fell upon the figure of a girl. She was in a long, black trench coat with a silver lining. Her white hair offset her otherwise very pale skin. The sleeves covered black gloves, and her legs were solid black as well. Her face was obscured by a white mask with purple markings on it.

"Where the hell did you come from?" King Candy asked incredulously. He was sure he'd have noticed such a character when he first arrived in Game Central Station. The room was empty when he had passed through, and there was no way anyone could have gotten past the Surge Protector.

The girl tilted her head to the side. "Does it matter? Besides, I'm not sure you're in a position to ask any questions." She took a step toward the bewildered king.

"I'm certainly in a position to ask questions!" snapped King Candy.

The girl took another step forward.

"Actually, sir, unless we get this name issue sorted out I'm required to take you into custody." The Surge Protector stepped between the girl and King Candy.

The girl took another step forward.

King Candy suddenly snapped back into character at the first sign of a pun.  
"Custody? I think you mean custard-y! Hoo hoo!~"

The girl stopped taking steps forward.

The metallic voice of the girl had turned from playful to cynical. "... Custard-y? Really?" A step back. "My god, you're as annoying as I thought you would be."

"Annoying?" King Candy was fast losing his temper, and the faster and louder he got the more his slight lisp intensified. "I'm the annoying one? Me? Really? Rather than thith dastardly and ineffectual station as a whole? Rather than thith detainment, the humiliation, and now this pesky teleporting masked instigator insulting my well developed senth of humor?"

On a better day, with more time spent planning how this would have played out, King Candy would have realized the smartest thing to do would be to walk away.

This was not a better day.

King Candy squeezed his eyes shut. If he had to go Cybug and tear this place apart, so be it. The other games here weren't necessary for Sugar Rush's survival. A voice in the back of his mind warned him from completely letting loose.

_If she makes one more stupid joke at my expense, I swear to god I'll just kill her right here and now._

Silence.

"Uh... sir? Remember, I still am required to take you into custodyyyyyyyaaaaaaaaA*(#$&%(* ! SYSTEM ERRO^&"

_… What?_

King Candy opened his eyes. Surge was gone, and the masked girl was back inside of the short tunnel. She had pulled off one of her gloves and had placed her hand, which was glowing slightly, into a mess of wires inside the wall of the station. The covering to the wires had been pried off with what looked like excessive amounts of force.

"H-How did you do that?" King Candy stuttered. He'd been around for over 40 years, and he had never once seen anyone affect the security in Game Central Station.

The girl took her hand out of the wall. Her lack of glove revealed a spiral purple tattoo that matched the markings on her mask ran down her arm and ended on her palm. She looked at her hand, which had slowly faded from its previously glowing state, and closed her bare hand into a fist.

The masked girl looked right into the eyes of King Candy. "That's not your concern. Perhaps you should be thanking me instead. After all, I did just save you."

"I had it under control." He muttered under his breath.

"Hah. Right, right, that's hilarious." She turned toward the entrance to Sugar Rush.

"Don't get the impression I'm a helpless old man, you impudent little brat." King Candy had discarded any attempt to remain calm. He'd been shown up by a masked character who'd somehow appeared behind him - all while being pestered by a safety system he should have been able to get around.

The girl started walking down the tunnel. "I never said that. Helpless? No. Clueless? Maybe." She looked over her shoulder, her metallic voice slightly disjointed by the echo. "Dangerous? Without a doubt."

King Candy glared at the retreating figure.

_What impudence. I should teach her a thing or two... or maybe I should just kill her._

He suddenly jolted with the realization of where she was going.


	4. Chapter 4

"Where are you going?" King Candy called after the girl. She was already to the tram that led into Sugar Rush.

"Where does it look like? I'm in the mood for watching some racing. Plus, this game comes with free concessions."

King Candy ran the remaining distance to the tram. "I'm coming with you. I don't trust you not to mess with my game."

"Your game, huh? Oh, that's not pretentious. That's not pretentious at all." Nevertheless, she opened the door to the car for King Candy. He hopped up next to her, and then scooted as far away as possible.

_So much for my day off. Now I have to spend it babysitting this belligerent interloper._

The tram started down the sparking wire transit. King Candy narrowed his eyes at the girl. The girl returned his gaze, unblinking. Her eyes, he noticed, had no pupils. Perhaps she was from an older game that didn't have enough graphical power to detail something so intricate. But if that was true… how was the tattoo pattern so clean? How was her mask so well made? She also had hair, which was nigh impossible with the 8-bit generation of games.

"So… who are you?" King Candy finally asked, his voice cutting over the machine sounds the tram was making.

"Are you asking for my name?" The girl replied.

"… Yes… What else could I be asking for?" King Candy rolled his eyes.

"I don't have a name." The girl looked away from King Candy, finally breaking his unyielding gaze.

"Oh." Such a shocking answer had prompted such a simple response.

_… That can't be true. All game characters have names. Even if their playable identities don't, they should know the developer's name for themselves._

"Why are you following me?" The girl was looking ahead of the tram now. They were approaching Sugar Rush.

"Well, you are a guest in my game. It's protocol." A pause. "Also, I don't trust you."

The girl gave a short laugh in response. "That's probably wise."

Despite the foul demeanor of King Candy, he laughed a little at her joke.

The tram halted abruptly. The girl vaulted over the side of the shuttle, foregoing the door entirely. King Candy exited the car as per the norm, not taking his eyes off of the nameless character.

"So..." he mused, as he followed her onto the rainbow bridge.

"Want to watch the races?"

The masked girl turned and started running toward the main track. She stopped and faced the bewildered king, and beckoned.

_Wow. Maybe she's not that bad after all._

King Candy smiled a little bit to himself, then jogged down the ramp after her.


End file.
